Conservative provocateurs Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens to speak at CU Boulder in October

The University of Colorado is hosting two leaders of the conservative student organization Turning Point USA including Charlie Kirk, whose appearance in Fort Collins earlier this year sparked a violent protest in October. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff photographer)

Two leaders of the conservative student organization Turning Point USA - including Charlie Kirk, whose appearance in Fort Collins earlier this year sparked a violent protest - are scheduled to speak on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus in October.

“Whether people agree or disagree with them, Charlie and Candace’s message has resonated with others and has provoked people to dig deeper into why they believe what they believe,” said Ashley Mayer, president of CU Boulder's Turning Point USA organization. “Their intellect and message have inspired thousands of young conservatives to become passionate activists.”

When Kirk came to speak at Colorado State University in February, protests turned violent, according to the Coloradoan. A group wielding riot shields, large flashlights and face masks with skulls on them stormed the area while chanting Nazi slogans as Kirk was wrapping up, according to the newspaper. Protests before and during the speech were orderly, university officials said.

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CSU's police chief issued a dispersal order due to a risk of an imminent threat of potential violence, citing protesters armed with bats, shields and gas masks.

Ryan Huff, a spokesman for CU's Boulder campus, said the university is familiar with how Kirk's appearance at CSU went.

"We know our counterparts at CSU very well and have already had discussions on how they handled event security and other planning aspects," Huff said. "When we plan security for events, we often talk to universities and other entities that have hosted a speaker before so that we can best prepare to hold a safe event for everyone. While I cannot get into those specific planning measures, I would point to our track record of holding safe events that ensure everyone’s free speech rights are protected. We expect the same for the Oct. 3 event."

Kirk and Owens are known for being provocateurs, with Owens recently causing a stir at a Turning Point USA-hosted summit for young women. Owens demeaned the #MeToo movement that supports women who have faced sexual assault and harassment, saying the premise made women look "stupid, weak and inconsequential."

The entire premise of #metoo is that women are stupid, weak & inconsequential. Too stupid to know what men might want if you come to their hotel room late at night. Too weak to turn around and tell someone not to touch your ass again.Too inconsequential to realize this.

The vice president of right-leaning organization Young America's Foundation wrote a memo suggesting conservative students should avoid Turning Point USA, calling the group "a parasite," according to the Washington Post.

Turning Point USA is no stranger to bringing controversial speakers to Colorado.

Turning Point USA also brought conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulous to CU's Boulder campus in 2017. Yiannopoulos, who targeted feminists and liberals during his speech, has since been permanently banned from Twitter after the social media platform took action against racist abuse targeting actress Leslie Jones.

While other universities such as the University of California Berkeley have canceled controversial speakers as protests mounted, CU Boulder has taken a pointed stand to allow for freedom of speech on its campuses. University officials couldn't think of a speaker who had been canceled over impending controversy, and the university has had security present for such events.

"We want our campus to be a place of learning and debate and enlightenment, and that includes debate in the classroom and speakers who could be controversial and have ideas that may or may not align with our students' beliefs," Ryan Huff, spokesman for the Boulder campus, told the Daily Camera in January. "I think the policies we have in place are working for us, but we're certainly open to further guidance from our board of regents."

The University of Colorado Board of Regents is set to vote Friday on policies defining academic freedom and freedom of expression, according according to the Daily Camera.

The university's Republican regents, including Heidi Ganahl, have pushed for stronger free speech policies on the university's campus, noting that conservative and libertarian students don't feel comfortable on Boulder's left-leaning campus.

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